Canada’s regulatory authority has provided its verdict on the proposed Microsoft-Activision deal, where it believes the merger will reduce competition in the industry. This was revealed during the US tech giant's ongoing testimony in front of the Federal Trade Commission who moved to block the Microsoft-Activision deal.Microsoft’s bid to acquire Activision-Blizzard has been a bumpy ride taking into consideration the pushback from global regulatory authorities and some of its competitors. UK’s CMA, the EU, USA’s FTC have been investigating the matter individually, where the EU approved the merger with certain conditions and the CMA decided to block the Microsoft-Activision deal. Now, the Canadian regulator has seemingly added to Microsoft’s worries and is currently investigating the matter.As reported by The Verge’s Tom Warren, the Canadian Regulatory Bureau pointed out certain “inaccuracies” in Microsoft’s filings. According to Microsoft, apart from the FTC and excluding the CMA, all the regulatory authorities across the globe have agreed that Xbox wouldn’t take away Call of Duty from PlayStation. The Canadian regulator has argued that this is claim is not entirely true and also said, “the proposed merger is likely to result in substantial prevention and/or lessening of competition with respect to gaming consoles and multigame subscription services”. However, Microsoft was quick to respond to this and said that the notice was sent by the Canadian regulator “after” the formal waiting period to prevent the deal had expired.
Canada’s verdict might not be favorable for Microsoft, but several other countries have already given their stamp of approval to the deal. For instance, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Africa, and Serbia have greenlit the deal which has fortified Microsoft’s stance. However, the same cannot be said about its competitors as Sony is still trying to get the deal blocked. PlayStation's Jim Ryan claimed that Xbox Game Pass is destructive and game publishers don't like the service during his testimony in front of the FTC.
Call of Duty’s exclusivity is the core topic of discussion in this deal, which is also Sony’s biggest concern. Microsoft offered to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for 10 years, but it wasn’t enough for the Japanese tech giant. During the current trial, Xbox boss, Phil Spencer, swore an oath to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, but documents from the hearing revealed that it wanted to push Sony out of the market by outspending it, so regulators and other competitors might not be convinced by it.